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Catalog No. 1148B
Pottery or stoneware, relief, 0.5L, pewter lid.
Text:
“Das war der Zwerg Perkeo im Heidelberger Schloss,
an Wuchse klein u. winzig, an Durste riesengross.
Man schalt ihn einen Narren, er dachte: Liebe Leut’,
wärt ihr wie ich doch alle feuchtfröhlich u. gescheut.”
(There was the dwarf Perkeo in Heidelberg castle,
small and tiny in stature, but with a huge thirst.
They called him a fool, he thought: Dear people,
if all of you were but like me, boozy and shunned.)
The text on this stein is the first verse of a poem by Josef Viktor von Scheffel, written in 1847 and set to music in 1872 by Stephen Gruwe.
The centrally depicted Perkeo was an 18th-century dwarf who served as both court jester and keeper of the royal wine keg in Heidelberg. Despite his size, he was reportedly quite a prodigious drinker and, according to legend, his death came about when he mistakenly drank a glass of water. Side images depict Heidelberg Castle, as well as the castle’s 58,100-gallon royal wine keg, purportedly the largest wooden barrel in the world.
Price Ranges
Full-color: $60-$80
Ltd-color: $50-$70
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